Canadian Tire
reviews and complaints

I had the worst experience with these bad people (Canadian tire) , I took my car to them two days ago because it was not starting till after several times so I drove it to them (thought they are a big company with good reputation) and I asked them to fix the problem, few hrs later they called me to tell me that the car need a new battery and alternator and that will coast me almost $500 cad, and I asked them if they are sure that it was the problem they told me yes, so I paid the money and picked my car from their crappy store, just 30 minutes later when I took it to my home I tried to start it and the same problem is there again (it does not start till I try several times) , so I took it back to them and I told them and the bad person who is working in the auto. Service went to me car and started it and it started immediately and I told him that was because it still warm and he did not believe (Like I am lying about my own car) then he told me that they will keep it there overnight and they will fix it in the morning. The next morning I called them and they told me they tried to start it in the morning but it did not start, so the mechanic exchanged a set of plugs (which is acceptable) and he exchanged the oil and the filter (I do not know how he thinks that that was the problem) and they charged me another $100 cad I told them why did you make me pay for the battery and the alternator if they were not the problem and the person there told me, even with all the things that they did it will not start tomorrow in the morning (Look how much he trusted his mechanics work) then after I asked him so why should I pay if they did not even fix the problem he said I will stop arguing with you and you are "rude" can you see the quality of costumer service they have.

I went out to take my car and for my surprise that my car was completely dead, silent nothing work in it, not even a click. I talked to the manager and he tried to start my car and as I said it was deadly silent. So he called the mechanics and they all tried for few minutes, and nothing, so the manager told me they will nt be able to work on it tonight and they will work on it tomorrow. I told the manager that I just want my car as I brought it, and it was running and I drove it to their store, and I am not willing to pay any more money, so the "professional" manager told me we can not make it run again if your not willing to pay, and even if it was our fault so the mechanic who will look for the loose wire or the problem should be paid for his work $ 105cad / hr.

Can anybody believe that there is such a bad service in a developed country like canada. To close the story when I left my car there and I told them to fix it they left it in the parking lot overnight unlocked, so any one was welcome to open the door and take whatever he needs (radio, cd player, baby booster seat, or even their new battery). My car still there and I am looking for a real mechanic to be towed to.

Please be sure not to be fooled by the name of this bad company, I thought the large companies have employees who are concerned about its name, not a bunch of thieves.

Got a rain check at ct for a brad nailer on jan. 13 had to prepay for it was told 4-6 weeks for it to come in it is now march 08 and after yet another trip to ct to get an update we are no closer to receiving our product than we were on jan 13. If you are told 4-6 weeks it should be 4-6 weeks especially for a prepaid item. No one out there could even tell us when it would be coming in.

I took my vehicle to Canadian Tire ONCE for service, only to have the estimated price mysteriously increase by almost %80. I asked to have all the old parts returned, and this request was noted on the work order before the service began. The parts managed to disappear before I arrived to pick up the vehicle, so my willingness to cooperate also disappeared. The situation got noisy and ugly, but I won. Canadian Tire has reached new highs in LOW customer service. And it's not just in the Auto Service Department.

Every area of every CanTire I've visited has poorly stocked shelves, messy aisles, improperly (or unlabeled) merchandise, and items in the wrong bins. Perhaps if they stopped hiring teenagers at minimum wage, and actually TRAINED their staff, most of these problems could be rectified.

And I'm getting really tired of dealing with (otherwise unemployable) females that are too busy yapping with each other to help the customers. CanTire head office isn't the least bit interested in dealing with the situation. As long as they keep making money nothing will ever change.

I strongly advice everyone to avoid the auto service department, and be sure to complain long and loud about every shortcoming.

Ian Millard
[protected]@imillard.com

I had a very bad experience with Canadian Tire Auto Service (2160 Carling Ave, Ottawa) on Jan 13 (Sunday), 2008. They installed a wrong front driving axle at passenger side in my car. After I asked them to restore my car to its original condition, they left the wrong axle in my car and let me drive home. The wrong axle was found and taken out by another mechanic in Tony Graham (1955 Merivale Road) right next day. I picked up my car at Tony Graham and bought back the wrong axle on Jan 16.

If you are interested in this story, go to my blog http://unfair-practice.blogspot.com/ to get the whole story and proofs of my car's condition before and after this problem.

I went in to the Auto center on Saturday afternoon to get a seasonal tire change over and oil change. It was completed after about 2.5 hours on this busy Saturday. As per the sign I let them know what aisle in the parking lot me minivan was in. When I received my keys they had no idea where it was parked. The mall was busy but they could have at least let me know my vehicle was in the Loblaws grocery parking lot. It was dark when I picked up the minivan and I did not not note any problems. The next day during the day I noted a great deal of black grease all over the floor mat, steering wheel and dash board. I took the vehicle in on Monday and the dealer got the same mechanic who serviced the car to clean the vehicle. After I got back to my place I noted two locking nuts missing on the passenger side of the vehicle and subsequently returned to the dealer. After no apology by either the duty service manager or manager and another 2 hour wait I received 4 new locking nuts. In fairness the mechanic who placed the 4 new locking nuts did apologize (even though he had no fault at all). The initial mechanic apologized for his inexperience. My issue is with managers who do not apologize or take responsibility or supervision or new employees. No phone call after the fact, no offer of compensation or good will for my many years as a good customer.

Went Christmas shopping at Canadian Tire

1st issue - I`m looking for a 6`` wet dry bench grinder, the sales clerk isn`t even sure they carry it (I saw it on website day before). Okay so I`ll settle for an 8`` bench grinder. He says his computer says that they have that in stock and it should be in the isle we are in. It`s not and he can`t tell us where it is walks away (and doesn`t come back).

2nd issue - Try to buy Bauer Supreme 25 Sr. ice skates. There is a row of them all with prices of $69.99 underneath each one (at least 6 different tags saying same thing) we get to the til and the bill comes to over $200. We calmly tell the cashier the problem with the price tags, she sends someone to do a price check, he comes back with a tag of $64.99.
A manager comes (to help a different customer behind us in line with a different problem) while he is there she asks if she can override the price he says no and asks us to wait and goes checks out the price. He comes back 10 min later with an sales girl, tells us WE GRABBED THE WRONG ONES (acted like we were idiots) and that next to the ones we grabbed is a price of $179.99. He tells us the sales girl will show us the ones for $69.99.
We point out to her when we get back to the skates that not only do 6 tags each with boxes of the skate above it show $69.99 but they also have a model on display with 3 prices underneath JR-$59.99 regular-$64.99 and Sr-$69.99, she tries to tell us the price is for the Jr`s (but the display model is a Sr). I ask her to point out where the $179.99 price tag is and she can`t find one, she says she`ll have to check in the computer. We tell her not to bother and leave.

3rd issue - We decide we aren`t satisfied with the service and want to speak to the manager again, the front desk calls him and we wait 15 minutes before giving up and going home.

TO MAKE THINGS WORSE

We get home and check the skates on the website there are 2 pairs one is Bauer supreme for $64.99 SR or Jr and the other is Bauer Supreme 25 SR or JR $129.99. ($50 less than what they tried to charge us less than an hour earlier). I also checked the availability of the 6`` bench grinder that the sales guy didn`t even think they carried and it said Vernon - in stock. WHAT A JOKE

Than you Canadian Tire for your wonderful service BTW your manager was a dick.

I had a winter tire on a rim which had been damaged by a pothole. I took it in to Canadian Tire in April, 2007, where I was told that while the rim could be hammered out, the tire had been damaged and should be replaced. It was a difficult-to-find tire (a Michelin) and the technician told me they would have to order one. I asked him to go ahead and do so as I would not need the tire until the following autumn. He said he would call me when the tire was ready, in 5 weeks or so.

Some 10 weeks later, having not heard from Canadian Tire, I stopped back in at the store. I talked to the same technician, who went in the back, rolled out my wheel and said he hadn't got the tire yet. He said that he expected it in 5 weeks or so. Again, I told him I was in no hurry. Again, he told me he would call when it was ready.

The fall arrived, and I went in to get my wheel. The counterman could not find any record of there having been a wheel. He asked whether the technicial had created a work order. I told him that I didn't know. The man then told me that there was nothing he could do, and that "if there was no work order, there was no tire". He did not check for the tire. I asked "what are my options then?". His response was "your option is to step aside". That ended our conversation.

I took the issue to the service desk. A man there took my contact information and promised to look into it and call me back the next day. Three days later, having not received a call, I visited again. I talked to the same gentleman, who told me that he'd referred the problem back to the counterman to had told me to step aside. That was as much as he would do.

Another 4 or 5 days went by. No call. I should note that within that time, I was able to go to Frisby Tire, order a new rim and tire, and to have the tire delivered, mounted and balanced. I had given up on ever getting the original wheel back, but was quite angry and decided to contact head office. I sent an email to the head office. Within an hour or so I got an autoreply saying that they were experiencing "higher than normal volumes" and that they would get back to me "shortly". Four days later, I received a form letter assuring me that, while their success was based on listening to the voice of the customer, there was nothing they could do for me, but that they had referred the matter back to, you guessed it, the original counterman.

Clearly, no-one, not the auto service counter people, the customer service counter people, or the head office people, have any interest in even looking for the item. The worst part is, it was an old rim and the tire was damaged - the total value of the thing wouldn't have been higher than $25 or so. In light of this, a more stupid series of decisions is hard to imagine.

I have never been a big fan of Canadian Tire, but I won't shop there again.

I came to Canadian Tire located in Pickering, Ontario to purchase a battery for my Honda Accord. I was told by the Staff there that I should get the MotorMaster for $89.99 + taxes. I came home and found that the battery was no different from the one that I currently own. I had a problem with the performance. I cam back to the store 2 hours later only to found out that they will not take my battery back. Their policy is that they do not take batteries back with no exceptions. The battery was brand new and I came back to the store literally 2 hours after I had bought it.

So the General Manager comes out and start arguing with me. I was with my wife and my baby at the store and I had to be embarrassed by the store stuff to such extent so that everyone in the store had to stop and look at us. It was ridiculous. I was appalled that the General Manager of such a huge store would treat us like this. I have been a customer of Canadian Tire for many years. I have a Credit Card with them and this is the service that I get.

I have to mention that it doesn't say anything on the receipt that car batteries are not refundable. There is a small sign on the side of the counter that says it and if you are not standing on that side of the counter, guess what? You wont see it. So you are basically screwed. I asked the manager what he wanted me to do with it, and he raised his arms and said that it was not his problem.

Days ago bought eliptical trainer-exercise machine on sale for $299. Took hours to assemble. Does not work right, theres no resistance when you crank the level up. Simply I put it straight in my truck on my own that day, quite heavy. Took it straight back. I did not disassemble it and try squish it back in the box. In fact I thought I might be doing them a favor and they can set it in the sporting goods dept. as a demo since they didn't have one of that model on demo so far! Well they won't take it back. They tell me to call the 1 888 number in the manual, where it actually tells you to call first. I asked for store manager and she came and backed up the girl in customer service without showing any interest in what I said or how long I owned it and never used it yet!

They tell me the manufacturers warranty will cover it... thats just fine I said, but its brand spanking new and defective, I do not wish to spend weeks waiting for techs to come and order parts and then come to install the wrong part and reorder other parts (you know how it goes). I said I simply want to exchange if I can not even return it for refund. No go. had it been tidily packaged up in the box would they have given me a refund? I could have said I never used it! I was just plainly honest about it.

They sent me to their pay phone to call the 1 888 number. Spent 1/2 hour waiting on hold. I am told by the manufacturer that I can have it repaired, or depending on the store they should refund me. I said and thats for certain, you DO NOT have to fix it. They said no, if the store I use will take it back then thats fine. I go to the customer service and then am asked what Return Authorization # did they give me?! I said that they should have told me to ask for that, since I had no clue and had not expected any numbers.

It was useless. I had to go home at this point and cool down. I phoned the 1 888 again, this time taking 45 minutes to get through. Got another lady, she said the same thing. Depending on store policy they should take it back, or I can have it repaired. I stressed that it was brand new never used and I do not wish to go through any repair ordeal for something I just put together. Anyway, she said theres no such thing as Return Authorization # that they use, they can't give me or Canadian Tire themself any such number. She did give me a case # and her name. She told me hate Canadian Tire people need to call them perhaps, they'll tell them for me, but theres no extension # and they have to use the 1 888 # too.
I had also emailed their online support line too, and they gave me the exact same answer! So I was satisfied theres no such thing and I should be able to return it.

By this time between me, myself and I we figured that the electronic magnet "resistance motor" was not making any adjustment noises like they do on all the other demos I have used. I explained this to everyone to show "willing" and that I just am not simply trying to return something I now decide I don't want for no reason.

I call Canadian Tire back from home to tell them theres no such thing as Return Authorization #s at this manufacturers. Now the girl tells me I need to talk to Sporting Goods manager, why now?!... too many people are getting involved, and I have to reiterate everything all over again. So I did. I gave her the case # because she said she has to call the company herself. So an hour later she calls back to say that the girl she got knew nothing about giving out Return Authorization #s, must be new, and transfered the Canadian Tire lady... got voice mail, so she left a message for someone to call her back with a Return Authorization number. So I tell her theres no such thing. No one obviously called back at all and I am still waiting, all part of the inevitable... that I think I will end up fixing it. Maybe it'll be Christmas before that happens.

We have been so mad about it all, anywhere else would simply even exchange it... not Canadian Tire.

I would like to express my dissatisfaction with the treatment I received in your Canadian Tire store, 1595 Bedford Hwy, Bedford, Nova Scotia.

On November 10th, 2007 I took my vehicle for regular oil change, and I also asked that some of my car's electrical parts be checked. I had a problem with my break lights switch and one of the fuses was blowing. Technician replaced the fuse, bent bracket back so that brake lights would shut off. I paid $121.70 (invoice #209087) for this job with oil change included.

I was told by Steve Mackenzie, customer services representative, that break light switch for my car Ford Focus 2003 had to be ordered and it would be in store on Monday, November 12th. I asked for appointment for Monday, November 12th so that job could be finished and Mr. Mackenzie scheduled me for 13:30.

On Monday at 13:30 I showed up at the store after driving for 18 kilometers from my home. I postponed all my plans for that day so that I could bring my vehicle in, and to my dismay Mr. Mackenzie told me that they had actually forgotten to order part. "Oh, we can get it for you tomorrow" he said. No excuse, no apology for day and gas wasted to get to the store. Could not he call me before 13:30 to tell me not make trip to the store as the part was not there? Unbelievable disregard for my time and money wasted.

When I asked to talk to the Manager I was told that Manager was off and they sent shift supervisor to talk to me. I explained everything and I asked for the money (except for the oil change part) to be refunded to me so that I can go somewhere else to complete the job. Shift supervisor told me that he could give me only half of the money charged for the labour as technician actually "diagnosed" the problem (which they did not fix by the way). He obviously did not see my wasted day as a problem, either. I walked away and told him to keep the money, no problem.

Also, there was no apology from shift supervisor either, no explanation about forgetting to order the part. They could have at least call me to tell me not to make the trip to store!

Pretty sad.

Why is it acceptable for Canadian Tire to insult all Scots and racially stereotype them as money-grabbing & tighfisted. The giggling Jock image on their money is hugely insulting and if you think I'm over-reacting, substitute the image for one of someone (stereotypically) Jewish, rubbing their hands with glee at getting 5 cents back from their shopping trip!

October 17 2007,

I had my vehicle fixed at one of the Canadian Tire stores (http://www.canadiantire.ca/)
and they put on a new gas tank on my car that was just over a year ago, the gas tank has a 3 year warranty but they claim only 100 days on labor.

I took my vehicle into the location nearest to me in North York, Ontario where I live
I went to the Lawrence Square Mall Canadian Tire Location.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/

LAWRENCE & ALLEN EXPWY, ON

700 LAWRENCE AVE W.
TORONTO, ON
M6A 1B6
Phone: [protected]

They said that they were going to charge me $210.00 + GST to get the problem fixed just for the labor. The parts were going to be replaced under warranty. The labour is HIGHER then the part price! This is just stupid that they were going to charge me MORE in labor then what the actual part is worth. The Gas tank price is $182.99

I told him that this was still under warranty. He said that the part was but not the labor. I was speaking with the automotive manager at this location and this went on for a while I spoke with the owner of the store Phil and got absolutely no where with him.

The gas tank itself is only worth $182.99 this store is going to charge me more in labor to fix their defective tank then the actual cost of the part is going to be! This is just a RIP OFF!

What they are doing is charging me the full shop price to install a NEW one. Even though this is repair to fix a defective part that Canadian Tire installed in my car. And yes I had a copy of my warranty and everything with me and showed them that the part was indeed installed by Canadian Tire.

I asked Phil who is the store owner to do this at his cost and not the Mitchell book price because this was to replace a defective product that Canadian Tire put in my vehicle in the first place and that if they put a quality part on my vehicle in the first place that I would not have to be in there that day. Phil the Store Owner refused to do anything for me and was rude and very ignorant with me. And this is a store owner you may expect something like this from an employee but not a store owner!

A store owner should want to keep his customers but obviously not this one. He just wants to gouge his existing customers as much as he possibly can! I tried to reason with him and come to some compromise but he wouldn’t hear it.

The store was going to charge me 2 hours worth of labor just to drop this old tank off and put the new one on.

I asked the store owner Phil if he could charge me what it would cost to have his mechanic do the work knowing that the mechanic was NOT going to get paid that whole $210.00 + GST at best that mechanic would only make $30.00 - $35.00 per hour and since they were fixing a defective part that Canadian Tire installed why should Canadian Tire make money off repairing one of their defective parts.

Canadian Tire is laughing in this matter because they return the part back to the manufacture and get reimbursed for the defective part if I allowed them to change it out plus they are making money off of me for them to replace their garbage part! How does that seem fair to me that I am getting gouged out of all of this, I don’t mind paying the wage for the 2 hours for the mechanic to replace the part but why should the store make
a profit off of a defective part and the store ends up pocketing money out of this deal?

The store should have put parts into the vesicle the first time that were quality parts and they would
not have had to be changed after a year. That gas tank should last a long time a lot longer then
a year!

How does that seem in any way a good way to run a business? When the company first
Puts a part in the vehicle and then when it goes defective charge them the full price a 2nd time to replace THEIR defective part.

If you do the math at 2 hours labor and again the mechanic would only make $30 - $35 per hour.

$35.00 * 2 = $70.00 the rest of that money out of the $210.00 goes right into the store’s bank account, which would be $140.00 that would be going to the store’s bank account.

Why should any Canadian Tire store be allowed to make a profit off of a defective part they should replace the defective part at cost which would be the cost to pay their mechanic to do the work I would have been more then happy of they charged me $70 - $80 in labor to just change out the defective part. But instead they want to over charge me and gouge me in every way they possibly can!

Canadian Tire should want to look after its customers but instead it seems more like they want to rip them off! I know they have lost a customer I won’t deal with Canadian Tire any longer!

If this is a new install of a part sure charge the full so the shop makes some money but when they are going to replace a defective part from a persons vehicle that they installed and they know is not good then they should replace it at their cost! Right now the way Canadian Tire is working is that it is to their advantage for them to install parts that they know will break down outside the labor warranty and then they turn around and charge an absorbent labor cost in order to get the problem fixed. This is nothing more then high way robbery on the part of Canadian Tire and should not be occurring.

Obviously Canadian Tire doesn’t care about its customers and just wants to nickel and dime them as much as they possibly can and over charge them any way they possibly can! Well I am sick of it and I won’t deal with Canadian Tire any longer!

I tried to work with the owner of the store and come to some compromise on this but he refused to budge in any way. It had to look really bad with the two of us standing not that far from the front doors of the store with the two of us arguing out in front about this matter. That is something that the store would NOT want and just gives them bad publicity. Cripes I have spent more money in that store in the automotive garage and in the store itself that they have probably just lost money on this deal because they lost a regular customer due to the actions of this owner.

And when that didn’t work he tried another tactic he said that oh the car is “unsafe” and that he wasn’t going to release the car to me. He then suggested that oh we have a sealant that we can put on it and that he was going to charge me $30.00 for that otherwise he wasn’t going to release the vehicle from the garage.

And this was coming from the store owner! Who isn’t even a mechanic, he is the owner of the store and doesn’t even do that well but now he seems to think that he is a mechanic as well. He was simply doing this to spite me since I was giving him a difficult time that day about how things were being handled. Eventually he did release the car to me and I left that location and hopefully to never return there again!

Obviously I am not the only one that seems to have a lot of complaints about how Canadian Tire is treating people and scamming them and providing 2nd rate merchandise. It appears that Canadian tire has quite a long history of complaints against them too.

Here are other complaints related to this SAME store that I went to at
700 Lawrence Ave West in North York, Ontario, Canada

Installing wrong parts / over charging.
/URL removed/

http://www.bbbmwo.ca/commonreport.html?bid=1135830

According to the BBB at the time of writing this complaint this store has an unsatisfactory record infact the BBB

The BBB sent a complaint to this store and they never even bothered to respond to the complaint. Now that’s some really bad customer service on the part of the store.
Les Wall was the service manager in the automotive garage at this location and I am aware of him.

Over charging for work / parts yet another complaint about the Canadian Tire Store at
700 Lawrence Ave W.
http://www.complaints.com/2007/may/29/_problems_with_Candian_Tire_145080.htm

Canadian tire has a habit of brushing off complaints that get made by their former customers.

Appears that Canadian Tire really needs to improve its customer service, at all of its stores not just this one if you look at /link removed/ there are loads of complaints about Canadian Tire centers from all across Canada!

I can tell you from my personal experience that how Canadian Tire treats its customers is horrible!

From the research that I have been doing appears that this store at 700 Lawrence Ave W is owned by a company by the name of “J.Paul Cairns Enterprises”

Bottom line is Canadian Tire just SUCKS and I won't deal with them any longer!